Ok, We all have boring but necessary tasks that need to be done one way or another each and every day. Sometimes we push them aside to be done on a better day and sometimes we simply have to get up and do them no matter the circumstance. Driving someone somewhere, picking stuff from the supermarket or cleaning the garage. And this extends to our job as well. Repetitive tasks that we know how to do but hate doing because of time or lack of patience. I’m however happy to report that I have solved this issue, at least for most of the tasks I hated doing before. Here are my ways to entertain myself every time I do the things I don’t like doing:
Listen to a YouTube video
I know you were expecting me to say to listen to music as it’s a common thing a lot of people do when they need to pass time and I have no problem with this method. However, listening to a YouTube video while in the middle of something can have more than one positive effect on you. The first thing to point out is that having someone speak in the background can give the illusion of being right beside the speaker which in turn makes you feel the companion of a fellow human being. I know that this may seem weird but give it a try.
Of Course, listening to a conversational video as opposite to picture oriented one makes a big difference. I like listening to tech and even political videos where the persons speak directly to you with information as opposite to say a prank channel where you have to look at the screen to enjoy the content. Not only will this make time fly by it can also make you learn a thing or two while doing the things you normally hate doing. I can confidently say I personally benefited from this by both entertaining and teaching myself new things I would have otherwise missed. Just open the YouTube app on your phone and listen while driving or working.
Listen to a Standup show
Stand Up comedy is something I learned to appreciate while working! My friend suggested I take a listen and I was hooked ever since. There are a few different ways to listen to a stand-up comedy show including YouTube or downloading and burning the track to a cd. You can also purchase an official CD of your favourite show but there are many legit free shows on YouTube. You can also rip and burn your legally owned copies as well. Non-english legal standups can easily be found on the internet so you’re never short on content.
Listen to an Audiobook
Audible.com is a great source of legit audiobooks. There are other sources but I recommend this Amazon company because of the variety of content and the affordable price. You can listen on the go with the Android and IOS apps although purchasing is restricted on the IOS version due to Apple’s policy. There are so many books I wanted to read but simply haven’t got the time due to work and other life-related tasks but with Audiobooks in my pocket, I had no excuse left. And with the voice acting, you really feel what the author was trying to accomplish, something normal paper can’t deliver.
There are many other ways to keep yourself entertained while doing boring tasks but those were my favourite. Not only are you finishing tasks while being entertained, but you are also multitasking and hopefully learning a thing or two on the way killing two birds with one stone. Productivity doesn’t have to be boring. Hope my methods work for you as they did for me. Happy 2019 guys.